Gender budget gets 19% more, but health, nutrition remain underfunded

This year, the Union government allocated Rs 3.27 lakh crore or 6.8 percent of total expenditure under the gender budget, which includes schemes for the welfare of women. This represents a 19 percent increase compared to the revised estimate for 2023-24 and is also 5 percent higher than the interim budget for 2024-25 presented in February this year.

India began releasing a gender budget alongside the Union budget in 2005-06. Gender-responsive budgeting aims to help governments track whether public funds are effectively allocated in furthering gender equality and empowering women. This year, the share of the gender budget relative to the overall expenditure budget is at its highest.

However, this time the Union government included the Jal Jeevan Mission, hitherto not part of the gender budget. This scheme, which aims to provide water supply through households tap connections to every rural household, accounts for 10 percent of the gender budget--the highest after the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Rural).

Despite these increases, key areas such as health, nutrition and education schemes remain underfunded. For instance, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 received less than 5 percent of the gender budget, and the allocation remains unchanged compared to revised estimates for 2023-24.

Introducing a third section of gender budget

Since its inception, the gender budget has been divided into two parts: Part A, which includes schemes fully allocated for the welfare of women, and Part B, which includes schemes that partially target women, with at least 30 percent of their budgets allocated for women.

For the first time, a Part C has been introduced. This section includes schemes with less than 30 percent allocation for women, with the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) being the only scheme listed under this new section.

Overall, 34 percent of the gender budget is allocated to fully targeted schemes (Part A), 61 percent to partially allocated schemes (Part B), and 5 percent to schemes under Part C.

Although this third section has been included in the Union budget for the first time, states like Kerala have already implemented similar classifications. "The inclusion of a Part C for schemes that have less than 30% allocation specific to women is a welcome step. There is a need to relook at all schemes from a gender lens," says Avani Kapur, founder-director at the Foundation for Responsive Governance and senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). "However, there should be a clear and transparent methodology for classifying schemes and assigning weights to them," she adds.

The introduction of Part C highlights a shift towards a more inclusive approach in the gender budget, but it also underscores the need for better tracking and transparency in how these funds are allocated and utilised to truly benefit women across the country.

A quarter of the net gender budget is for PM Awas Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), is divided into rural or PMAY-Gramin (PMAY-G) and urban or PMAY-U, spanning across the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Department of Rural Development. Together, these schemes account for more than 70 percent of the allocation in Part A.

“PMAY-G is 100 percent women-centric as it aims to promote female home ownership, yet MIS data reveals that only 26 percent women own a house solely and another 46 percent jointly with their partners," says Kapur. In contrast, even as women account for 54 percent person-days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), as IndiaSpend reported in March 2024, it is categorised under Part B.

The highest allocation under part B is for the Jal Jeevan Mission at 10 percent, followed by MGNREGS at 8 percent.

Overall, Part A has seen a 35 percent increase in budget, primarily due to a 70 percent rise in allocation for PMAY-G from Rs 32,000 crore to Rs 54,500 crore. Additionally, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has seen the inclusion of Several programmes such as cyber security projects, research and development in information technology, electronics and CCBT (or convergence, communications and broadband technologies), thereby increasing the ministry’s allocation in the gender budget from Rs 100 crore to Rs 1,625 crore.

Under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, schemes such as PM Vishwakarma and the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries have also received increased funding.

Health and nutrition remains underfunded

Despite the worsening health indicators, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2 schemes received less than 5 percent of the gender budget. The allocation remains unchanged compared to revised estimate for 2023-24, which itself was half the budget estimate that year. The Supplementary Nutrition Programme alone requires a budget of Rs 42,033 crore (including state government funding); yet Rs 21,200 crore was allocated overall and 15,900 crore was allocated under the gender budget for the umbrella ICDS scheme.

“The problem is that overall, the allocation for health and nutrition is too low,” says Dipa Sinha, who teaches Economics at the School of Liberal Studies, Dr BR Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD). “The economic survey mentions that 1.9 percent of GDP [gross domestic product] is allocated for health, but this figure includes water and sanitation within its scope."

Indicators from the National Family Health Survey, 2019-21 show that the prevalence of anaemia and diabetes has increased, and malnourishment remains prevalent among women. "ICDS continues to be underfunded. Additionally, schemes like Matru Vandana Yojana are not updated, the Rs 6,000 per mother allowance has not been adjusted for inflation and has remained the same since 2013," says Sinha.

This scheme also funds anganwadis, which rely on the services of 1.3 million Anganwadi workers and 1.2 million Anganwadi helpers, who have been underpaid and overworked. In February 2022, IndiaSpend reported about the anganwadi workers’ protest in Delhi, demanding retirement benefits, medical insurance, and NGO involvement in ICDS, among other things. In February 2024, over 200,000 anganwadi workers in Maharashtra went on a 54-day strike, demanding fair wages and basic rights such as pension and gratuity.

Education receives 12 percent of gender budget

Education has been allocated 12 percent of the gender budget, but the overall budget for education remains insufficient to meet the requirements.

“To see an increase in the enrollment rate of girls and a reduction in the dropout rate, basic facilities need to be met, such as more accessible schools and better infrastructure," says Ritu Dewan, economist and vice president of the Indian Society of Labour Economics. "Moreover, key concerns for the education of girls, like the dropout rates at the secondary level, have not been adequately addressed at all. Structural constraints as well as ongoing policy of closure of govt schools also remain unaddressed."

In 2021-22, the dropout rate for girls at the primary level of education was 1.35 percent, which increased to 12.25 percent at the secondary level. In comparison, the dropout rate for adolescent boys was 12.96 percent.

IndiaSpend previously reported that the National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education aimed at providing economically disadvantaged girls with the opportunity to complete their education, but it has gradually been phased out and is no longer included in the budget.

“We need more than just a statement at the start of the year; there should be a vision with identified priority areas, plans, and the ability to track progress. This will help determine whether ministries are on track to meet goals and if women are benefiting. Currently, this is not being done, or at least not shared, and gender-disaggregated data isn’t always available,” explains Kapur.

This report is republished with permission from IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

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